SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The No. 2 overall seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish are making their third College Cup appearance in program history, including their second in last three years, as they take on Oregon State in the NCAA Championship Semifinals at 8:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 8 at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville. The match will air on ESPNU.
No. 2 NOTRE DAME vs. OREGON STATE
Location: Louisville, Kentucky | Lynn Family Stadium
TV: ESPNU
Live Stats: Click Here
Twitter Updates: @NDMenSoccer
Game Notes: vs. Oregon State
Tickets: Click Here
THE IRISH IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
• Notre Dame is playing in its 24th NCAA Championship in 2023 and have played in the tourney in 20 of the last 23 seasons.
• The Irish have an overall record of 22-20-7 in the NCAA Championships.
• Notre Dame has a record of 2-0-1 at the College Cup in program history.
• The Irish did not advance from the semifinal in 2021, drawing against Clemson with a score of 1-1 before falling in penalties.
• Notre Dame won the College Cup in 2013, defeating Maryland by a score of 2-1 to capture the title. It was the program’s first trip to the College Cup.
• The Irish have advanced to the round of 16 on 12 occasions and have now made six quarterfinals with three coming during the six years of the Chad Riley era.
• Notre Dame’s No. 2 national seed is the highest the program has earned since being the top-seed during the 2014 season.
• The last time the Irish were in the NCAA Tournament they advanced to the College Cup for the second time in program history, coming in the 2021 season.
• Notre Dame is 16-8-6 when playing at home in NCAA Tournament play in program history and has advanced to the next round 21 times.
• With the win over Kentucky on Nov. 19, the Irish are 13-8-2 in their opening NCAA Tournament matches in program history and have advanced to the next round 15 times.
THE OREGON STATE SERIES
• Notre Dame and Oregon State will face each other on Friday evening for just the third time in series history.
• The Irish are 2-0-0 against the Beavers in the all-time series.
• Both Notre Dame victories were one-goal wins.
• The Irish defeated the Beavers by a score of 2-1 in the most recent matchup, coming in South Bend on Sept. 7, 2012.
LAST TIME OUT
• Notre Dame outlasted last season’s College Cup finalist Indiana in an instant classic at Alumni Stadium in the NCAA Championship Quarterfinals on Saturday, Dec. 2.
• The Irish and Hoosiers battled to a 1-1 draw after two overtime sessions and then Notre Dame won the ensuing shootout by a score of 5-4 to advance to the College Cup.
• Notre Dame’s goal came via a direct free kick strike from Daniel Russo in the 17th minute.
• Bryan Dowd made three saves over the 110 minutes of play to help the Irish reach penalties.
• The five Irish penalty takers each converted, as Matthew Roou, Paddy Burns, Eno Nto, Mitch Ferguson and Daniel Russo scored each of their attempts.
A FAMILIAR FACE
• With Notre Dame facing Oregon State, the Irish will be playing against one of its former players in Greg Dalby, who is the head coach for the Beavers.
• Dalby was an NSCAA First Team All-American in 2005 and 2006 for the Irish as a midfielder/defender. Dalby is second all-time in program history for consecutive matches started with 88.
• Dalby was a four-time monogram winner from 2003-06 and was the 2006 Big East Midfielder of the Year.
• The former standout went on to serve as an assistant coach for the Irish from 2012 to 2014, helping the Irish win the national title in 2013.
ATTACKING CLINIC
• Notre Dame’s attack has been one of the best in the country during the 2023 season.
• The Irish rank 14th in the country in goals (2.10), 11th in assists per game (2.30) and seventh in goal differential (+29).
• Sixteen different Irish players have scored a goal this season and 22 have recorded at least one point.
STRONG STARTS
• Notre Dame has made it a habit of jumping out to an early lead this season, as the Irish have scored the opening goal in 13 of 20 matches in 2023.
• Eleven of the 13 opening goals have come in the first 45 minutes of play.
•The quickest goal to start a match came from Matthew Roou in the 4th minute in the win over Clemson.
• The Fighting Irish are unbeaten when scoring the opening goal over the last 33 occurrences, posting a record of 31-0-2 spanning back to the early stages of the 2021 season.
FIGHT TO THE FINISH
• As good as the Irish have been at the beginning of matches, they have been even better in the final 45 minutes of play.
• Notre Dame has outscored its opponents by a combined score of 25-6 in second halves this season.
•The Irish have allowed second half goals in just four matches this season while having scored in the final 45 minutes of play in 12 outings.
SET-PIECE SUCCESS
• ND has excelled on both ends of the field on set pieces during the 2023 season.
•The Irish defense has allowed four goals off set pieces all season while in attack 16 of the team’s 42 goals have come via a set piece.
• Notre Dame has scored off six free kicks, five corners, three penalty kicks and two from throw-ins.
DOMINATING DEFENSE
• The Fighting Irish have allowed just 13 goals through 20 matches during the 2023 campaign.
• The 0.636 goals against average leads the ACC and ranks third in the country.
• With 11 shutouts over 20 matches, the Irish are fifth in the country in shutout percentage with a mark 55.0.
• Notre Dame has given up just one or no goals in 18 of 20 matches this season.
•The nine regular season shutouts are the most the Irish have recorded in a regular season since posting nine during the 2007 season.
• Notre Dame’s eight goals allowed in the regular season are the fewest the Irish have given up since the 2004 season in which they allowed seven goals.
DOWD DELIVERS
• Bryan Dowd has been masterful in goal this season for the Irish, making a claim as one of the top goalies in the country despite playing some of the best attacking units in the nation.
• The senior ranks fourth in the country in shutouts (10) and seventh in save percentage (.833).
• The shot stopper has 60 career starts while appearing in 61 matches over his previous three seasons in South Bend.
• Dowd has amassed 165 career saves and has recorded 23 clean sheets over his time in South Bend.
•The senior produced his best performance of his career in the 0-0 draw at Akron, making a career-high 12 saves to keep the clean sheet intact.
• The 12 saves are the most by an ACC goalkeeper in the regular season and the third most of any goalie at the DI level.
ROOU’S RUN OF FORM
• Junior Matthew Roou is a prominent force in the Irish attack through this season, producing 23 points off 10 goals and three assists.
• The junior ranks third in the ACC in total goals (10).
• Roou’s hat trick in the win over IUPUI was the first of his career and the first of the season for the Irish.
• The junior forward finished with seven points off three goals and an assist, becoming the first Notre Dame player to record seven or more points in a match since Dave Donohue also had seven points against Marquette on Sept. 11, 2008.
• Roou currently has 21 career goals to go along with 10 career assists, totaling 52 career points for the forward.
NTO’S HISTORIC NIGHT
• Eno Nto scored a career-high four goals in the 6-0 victory over No. 20 Pitt in the season finale.
• The four-goal performance represented the most goals from an Irish player in a match since Joseph Lapira scored four against Indiana on Sept. 3, 2006.
• Nto’s four goals are the most any player in the ACC has scored in a match this season and the forward is one of three players at the men’s DI level to score four goals in a game this season.
• Nto was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Week, College Soccer News National Player of the Week and Top Drawer Soccer National Player of the Week after the performance.
• The junior is now tied for the team lead for goals on the season with 10 and has 17 goals in his Notre Dame career.
TOP OF THE TABLE
• The Irish captured their second ACC Coastal Division title in program history after the draw against No. 3 Wake Forest. The program now has three ACC regular season titles, also winning in 2014 and 2013.
• Notre Dame is coming off its best regular season in ACC play, finishing with its first undefeated year in league action with a record of 6-0-2.
• This marked Notre Dame’s first undefeated regular-season conference record since going 7-0-4 in the Big East in 2011.
• Notre Dame scored 19 goals in regular season ACC play, which were the most of any team in the ACC over the eight matches.
• The Irish posted a +13 goal differential over the eight ACC matches, which ranked first in the conference.